Mamma Mia, here we go again, how can we resist you? This is the sixth time in 12 years that the ABBA musical has played the Jubilee Auditorium courtesy of Broadway Across Canada, and it is still playing to near-capacity crowds. The songs by the Swedish pop group are certainly a huge draw, but so is the fact that this is a genuine crowd-pleaser of a musical. It is funny, silly and sentimental. It is candy-coated melodrama, and a female-driven story that also appeals to men.
A Near-Perfect Jukebox Musical
It is difficult to determine whether its creator, Catherine Johnson, crafted the story to fit the songs or the songs to fit the story. That is how perfect the blend is. The story has Sophie, the 20-year-old daughter of Donna, owner of a small taverna on a Greek island, getting married. She discovers her mother's diary and learns that Donna had affairs with three men the summer that Sophie was conceived. Without telling her mother, Sophie invites all three men to her wedding in the hopes of discovering who her father really is. Such a ruse can only result in chaos, and that is what makes Mamma Mia! so much silly fun.
Talented Ensemble Shines
This newest touring version boasts a most talented ensemble. The cast makes the ABBA songs soar, especially Jessica Crouch as Donna. She is a powerhouse, triple-threat performer. Her comedy chops are just as honed as her dramatic ones, and she can switch seamlessly and effortlessly between them. Crouch turns The Winner Takes It All into a true torch song, earning a much-deserved thunderous applause. She fills the song with such deep emotion that you can feel the hurt, pain and remorse Donna is reliving when confronted by the man she thought abandoned her.
Sophie is played with the kind of wide-eyed innocence by Juliette M. Ojeda that allows you to forgive her for all the nonsense she sets in motion. She, too, has a sweet but powerful voice that allows her to tackle such diverse songs as Honey, Honey, The Name of the Game and I Have a Dream.
Comic Relief and Showstoppers
Donna's old friends and former bandmates, Tanya and Rosie, played by Jalynn Steele and Carly Sakolove, know they are the comic relief this musical relies on, and they hold nothing back. Steele is the aging vixen with a razor-sharp wit, and Sakolove gets her laughs with self-effacing humour. Steele has the big comic number Does Your Mother Know with the chorus boys in the second act, which has the audience roaring with laughter and applause. It is a hard act to follow, but Sakolove gives it her all with Take a Chance on Me. The duo turns Chiquitita and Dancing Queen into equally uproarious numbers in the first act.
To her credit, book writer Catherine Johnson gives each of Donna's suitors some good scenes and musical numbers with Victor Wallace as the American Sam Carmichael getting the best coverage. All three actors create memorable characters with little stage time.
